Timetable for Residency Application Process

April-May: Begin considering in what area of medicine you are interested. Gather information on residency programs through the following sources: Directory of Residency Training Programs available in the Student Affairs Office, School of Medicine (3040 Murphy), the AMA-FREIDA database, Consult with Program Director in department(s) of career choice, and Consult with residents and fourth year medical students. Write for information and applications from programs. Consider taking an elective in the area of your interest, at an institution you are considering for a residency. Write for information, regarding electives as soon as possible, such things to ask are the months available, housing, insurance requirements, etc. A Special Programs Application must be completed at least eight weeks prior to your starting any away elective - these forms are available from OSRR. Remember: no form, no credit! AMA-FREIDA database for all ACGME accredited fellowship and residency programs in the U.S. contains all the information found in the directory, plus detailed educational and demographic information on most of the residency programs in the U.S. The AMA-FREIDA system is installed on Medline for student access.

ERAS 2018 opened in May 2016 and full access for uploading documents begins on June 6, 2017.

June-July: Prepare your curriculum vitae/resume. Prepare your personal statement. This should contain a statement of your future goals and interests, in and out of medicine, as well as a brief autobiographical sketch. There is a fee to join the Match. Meet with Department Chair or Mentor in your area of interest to review your list of programs.

New as of 2016: The DWS in conjunction with the Office of Student Affairs can no longer upload Letters of Recommendation. The letter author or their assitant must upload the letter onto ERAS. The ERAS Letter of Recommendation Request Form details this change.

July - August: Complete ERAS application form (see ERAS). Contact faculty members for letters of recommendation. Most programs require three or more letters of reference from faculty/physicians who know you and your skills very well. You should arrange to meet with these individuals to request a LoR at least one month or more prior to September 15 (when ERAS apps are sent). They are doing this as a favor for you so do not expect them to write ten or fifteen letters at the last minute. Many times the faculty letters of recommendation are the last things to be sent and can keep you from scheduling an interview. Additional letters from faculty at institutions where you did an outside elective can also be included. These letters are sent directly to the residency programs through ERAS. They do not come to the Dean's Office for forwarding.

Deadline for MSPE (Dean's Letter) request is October 1. Requests submitted later could delay your MSPE (Dean's Letter) being released on October 1.

Transcripts will be obtained by Student Affairs staff for submission via ERAS.

September/October: Schedule interviews. What month is best will depend on the specialty in which you interview, but usually October/November/December are best. You should be sure to schedule free time for some time between late October thru mid-January for the interviewing process. Do not expect the clinical services to allow you days during a rotation to interview, especially when you are on a one month elective. Plan ahead and see Laura Zeiger in Student Affairs if you need to rearrange your schedule to allow for interview time in the fall.

October 1 Uniform release date for all MSPEs (Dean's Letters of Recommendation).

January: All applications and interviews should now be completed although some may continue into early February. Follow-up/thank you letters should be sent to those programs to which you are interested. The National Resident Matching Program Supplemental Directory of hospitals and programs participating in the Match program arrive in the Dean's Office. This directory contains the program code numbers for all residency positions and valuable information concerning the matching process. Rank Order lists will be entered via the NRMP website. Rank Order Lists are due in mid-February.

April: Hospitals and Programs send letters of appointment to students matched at their institution who then sign and return the letters of appointment. If your address has changed since you applied to that program, please notify them as soon as possible after the Match results are announced.